Such a reactor system is known from DE-A-10 2004 025 046; in this publication a reactor is disclosed wherein the electrodes of one or more high-voltage pulse generators are located in a reactor chamber, generating an electrical field across the width of the said reactor chamber.
The known reactor system is suitable for the treatment of a large throughput by the use of more than one Marx generator but has the disadvantage that a considerable pulse current may flow out of the reactor chamber in the direction of the flow of the material, e.g. in the case of a voltage application asymmetric to ground. Hence, additional ground electrodes are required for safety reasons. Moreover, the efficiency of the systems is reduced due to regions with considerably low electric field below the threshold necessary for electroporation of cell material.
WO-A-98 4074 discloses a pulsed electric field treatment device for the sterilization and preservation of pumpable food products having at least two electrodes and an insulator. Each electrode includes an electrode flow chamber. The insulator is situated between the electrodes. A high voltage pulse generator applies a high voltage pulse of variable voltage, frequency and pulse duration to the electrodes.
US-A-2008 279995 discloses a process for extracting useful substances from wine grapes by electroporation of the must produced from red and/or white grapes. The must is pumped or circulated before the pressing applied for must production through an installation or part of an installation and pulsed electric fields are applied therein to irreversibly rupture the biological cell walls of the grape skins. The device for carrying out must electroporation comprises a dielectric pipe, the flow duct for the must, in whose wall are arranged two mutually spaced electrodes to form a pulsed electric field between the electrodes. The device shows a strongly inhomogeneous field distribution in the flow volume.